Vallelunga starts new FIA TCR World Tour chapter

Vallelunga will host the 2024 FIA TCR World Tour opener this weekend, starting a new chapter of the series as it has gained FIA recognition.

2022 was the last season of the FIA World Touring Car Cup, with the TCR World Tour taking over the year after as promoter Eurosport left.

And the series has received a slight bump in entries for this season, with eleven cars entered compared to last year’s nine full-season entries.

The calendar is however reduced this season, from nine race weekends in 2023 to six this season following the cancellation of the Australian rounds.

What about grid quality?

BRC Hyundai have expanded their line-up to three full-season entries from last year’s two. Experienced touring car racer Néstor Girolami joins reigning champion Norbert Michelisz and 2022 WTCR champion Mikel Azcona to form a seriously strong line-up.

Adding to the expectations of the Hyundai squad is a face lift of the Elantra model and a new engine calibration.

Team champions Lynk & Co Cyan Racing returns with an unchanged strong four-car line-up, the only one of the series, with merited drivers Yann Ehrlacher, Santiago Urrutia, Thed Björk and Ma Qing Hua.

While the exterior of the Lynk & Co 03 TCR FL remains the same (it was face lifted last year) it has just as Hyundai got a new engine calibration for 2024.

The Hyundai and Lynk & Co teams are no doubt the main title contenders, just as last year.

What about the others?

The newly formed team (humbly named) GOAT Racing has taken over running of the Hondas for 2024 with experienced Argentinian racer Esteban Guerrieri returning to the world stage alongside youngster Marco Butti.

While there are no question marks around the competitiveness of the Honda Civic Type R FL5, the team has got a lot to prove compared to its veteran competitor teams and will struggle having only two cars.

The recently announced entry of Volcano Motorsport will also feature “just” two cars for former TCR Europe racers John Filippi and Sami Taoufik.

And while Comtoyou Racing made the most of the aging Audi last year to challenge for the drivers’ championship with Rob Huff, Volcano Motorsport has never before raced on the world touring car stage and their drivers lack experience compared to their competitors.

What’s new otherwise?

The series will just as last year race alongside national championships (except Marrakech and Mid-Ohio) throughout the season, starting the season with somewhat of a surprise with Coppa Italia Turismo despite the fact that TCR Europe is racing at Vallelunga.

The Vallelunga, Marrakech, Mid-Ohio, Zhuzhou and Macau race weekends will feature qualifying divided into Q1 and Q2, as well as two races of 60 km each.

The grid for the second race will have the top ten from qualifying in reverse.

The races in South America, Interlagos and El Pinar, will have the same qualifying format but a 25 min + 1 lap Race 1 and 30 min + 1 lap Race 2.

A new compensation weight system has also been implemented with 40kg to 10kg for the five best classified drivers in the previous race, based on points scored.

The Vallelunga season opener starts on Friday with practice, followed by qualifying and Race 1on on Saturday and the final race on Sunday.

Vallelunga schedule

Times in CEST

Friday – 19/4
11:40 – Free Practice 1
14:55 – Free Practice 2

Saturday – 20/4
11:20 – Qualifying
17:15 – Race 1 – 15 laps

Sunday 21/4
14:25 – Race 2 – 15 laps

2024 FIA TCR World Tour entries

105 – Norbert Michelisz – BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse – Hyundai Elantra N
111 – Thed Björk – Lynk & Co Cyan Racing – Lynk & Co 03 FL
112 – Santiago Urrutia – Lynk & Co Cyan Racing – Lynk & Co 03 FL
127 – John Filippi – Volcano Motorsport – Audi RS 3 LMS TCR
129 – Néstor Girolami – BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse – Hyundai Elantra N
155 – Ma Qing Hua – Lynk & Co Cyan Racing – Lynk & Co 03 FL
168 – Yann Ehrlacher – Lynk & Co Cyan Racing – Lynk & Co 03 FL
186 – Esteban Guerrieri – GOAT Racing – Honda Civic Type R FL5
196 – Mikel Azcona – BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse – Hyundai Elantra N
199 – Marco Butti – GOAT Racing – Honda Civic Type R FL5
212 – Sami Taoufik – Volcano Motorsport – Audi RS 3 LMS TCR

Vallelunga Coppa Italia Turismo entries

1 – Sandro Pelatti – PMA Motorsport – Audi RS 3 LMS TCR
4 – Giulio Valentini – GRT Motorsport – Audi RS 3 LMS SEQ
5 – Demir Eröge – Aikoa Racing – Audi RS 3 LMS TCR
15 – Filippo Barberi – Aikoa Racing – Audi RS 3 LMS TCR
34 – Ramazan Kaya – BF Motorsport – Audi RS 3 LMS TCR
39 – Tony Verhulst – MM Motorsport – Honda Civic Type R FK7
41 – Victor Fernández – Auto Club RC2 Valles – Audi RS 3 LMS TCR
77 – Philipp Mattersdorfer – Duller Motorsport – Opel Astra
82 – Jacopo Cimenes – MM Motorsport – Honda Civic Type R FL5